Global Cement News

India: Star Cement has appointed Vinit Kumar Tiwari as its chief executive officer. He succeeds Sajjan Bhajanka in the post. Bhajanka will continue to work for the cement producer as its managing director and chair.

Tiwari, aged 54, holds over 25 years of professional experience in the building materials sector. His most recent position was as the head of sales and market development for Nuvoco Vistas. Prior to working for Nuvoco Vistas, he was the country head for Greenply, a supplier of plywood and veneer products. Earlier in his career he worked for UltraTech Cement and Grasim Industries. He holds a bachelor of science degree and a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) in marketing.

India: UltraTech Cement has announced a plans to install a RotoDynamic Heater (RDH) supplied by Finland-based Coolbrook at one of its cement plants. The RDH uses renewably powered electrical heat, eliminating the need for cement fuels. UltraTech Cement will initially test the equipment in the drying of alternative fuel (AF) in its existing AF line.

UltraTech Cement managing director Kailash Jhanwar said “As a founding member of the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA), we are committed to the sectoral aspiration of delivering net zero concrete by 2050. Towards this end, we are continuously striving to innovate at every stage of the whole life of concrete. Coolbrook’s RDH technology represents an exciting technological pathway that we believe has the potential to exponentially accelerate our progress towards full decarbonisation. Every megawatt of clean energy we add to our mix makes a big difference.”

Read more about Coolbrook’s RDH in the September 2022 issue of Global Cement Magazine

Hungary: The Hungarian National Professional Association of Construction Contractors (ÉVOSZ) has claimed that the government of Hungary has initiated negotiations to acquire Duna Dráva Cement and Holcim Magyarország. 24.hu News has reported that the construction industry is facing on-going cement supply issues due to a purported decline in domestic production. ÉVOSZ said that its members’ reliance on imports of cement has risen to 60% from 40%.

Duna Dráva Cement clarified that its joint owners, Germany-based Heidelberg Materials and Schwenk Zement, are ‘committed to their investment in Hungary and are not negotiating its sale.’

Meanwhile, Switzerland-based Holcim said "We are not in a position to comment on the news that the Hungarian state is negotiating with domestic cement producers and/or their foreign owners for the purpose of acquiring shares."

Türkiye: Italy-based CTP Team says it is currently installing a new waste heat recovery (WHR) system at Medcem Çimento’s Mersin plant. Its contribution to the construction of a new production line at the site includes installing an organic rankine cycle-based (ORC) 10.5Mwe WHR system and three new process fabric filters for the kiln and raw mill, coal mill and cement mills. The new line is expected to be commissioned in 2024.

US: Continental Cement has ordered a Fuelflex Pyrolyzer alternative fuels combustion system from Denmark-based FLSmidth for installation at its Davenport plant in Buffalo, Iowa. The supplier says that its product offers a lower capital expenditure compared to competing systems, can control NO_x emissions without the need for ammonia water and can be installed without a long shutdown period. This is the first commercial installation of the Fuelflex Pyrolyzer system following a pre-commercial installation at the Mannok cement plant in Northern Ireland, UK, in 2022.

David Loomes, the president of Continental Cement, said “We’re very excited about what the Fuelflex Pyrolyzer will do for our process.” He added, “We’re planning to achieve 55% fossil fuel replacement across the plant, utilising non-hazardous waste that would otherwise go to landfill or incinerators. The economic and environmental benefits of this technology are very significant and a key element of executing our carbon reduction commitment.” Continental Cement, a subsidiary of Summit Materials, has been incorporating waste materials as fuels for more than 30 years.

Jens Jonas Skov Larsen, Head of Capital Sales at FLSmidth, said “Mannok has called the Fuelflex Pyrolyzer a game-changer for the cement industry.” He continued, “This system effectively rearranges the order of the combustion process to make use of hot preheater meal, which is the heat source for the waste fuel pyrolysis. It’s a more efficient way of burning alternative fuels and it comes with a host of benefits, including reduced emissions and a more stable process.”

The installation at Davenport cement plant is expected to start operation in 2024. The full commercial launch for the system is scheduled by 2025. No value for the order has been disclosed.